Paul Mullin and James McClean were both left stunned by the performance of one Wrexham player in the victory over Crawley Town.
Wrexham bounced back from their 3-1 defeat against Birmingham City by continuing their 100% record at the Racecourse Ground.
Phil Parkinson’s Wrexham secured a 2-1 victory over Crawley on Saturday thanks to goals from Elliot Lee and Max Cleworth.
Parkinson deserved credit heading into the match as his decision to drop the in-form Jack Marriott for Paul Mullin paid off, with the Liverpudlian helping the Reds to all three points.
It was a win that kept Wrexham level on points with Birmingham City at the top of League One, who have admittedly played a game less, with one star stealing the headlines.
Max Cleworth helps Wrexham beat Crawley Town
Cleworth scored his third goal of the season, rising highest at the back post to head home Wrexham’s winner in the 79th minute.
It was an incredible moment for the 22-year-old, with Parkinson heaping praise on Cleworth’s improvement in front of goal, lauding his ‘terrific’ heading ability and ‘fantastic’ leap.
The talented Englishman popped up when Wrexham needed him most to edge out a tight encounter and keep the pressure on their promotional rivals at the top of the table.
The 2002-born star is highly rated by his teammates, with former defensive partner Ben Tozer believing Cleworth can go on to play Premier League football in the future.
Following his match-winner, Cleworth sent a cheeky message to striker Steven Fletcher – who tried to steal his goal in the line – while the rest of his teammates were left in no doubt as to who scored the winner.
Reacting to the young defender’s post on Instagram, Mullin replied: “Super Maxy Cleworth” accompanied by a fire emoji, whereas McClean simply commented: “Bagsman”.
Sebastian Revan even compared Cleworth to Manchester City defender John Stones, with the 21-year-old saying: “Stones” and a heart eyes emoji.
Max Cleworth is Wrexham’s secret weapon
It took Cleworth 78 senior appearances for Wrexham to score his first goal, the memorable winner late on against Colchester United which helped the Reds seal promotion.
The highly-rated centre-back has since scored four goals in his last 12 league appearances for the club, striking against Wycombe Wanderers, Peterborough United and now Crawley.
Cleworth is now level with Lee for goals scored this term with 3 and one behind Marriott, who netted four goals in six league starts.
The Chester-born star is proving to be a secret weapon for Wrexham, with his aerial ability causing defences in the third tier huge problems, particularly from set-pieces.
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